De Kringwinkel is the largest social franchise in Europe.It is a Flanders-wide network of shops with dual social and environmental missions. By giving household goods and textiles a second life they help to reduce waste, while also creating social impact by providing employment opportunities to people that are long-term unemployed and by making high quality reusable items available to people at an affordable price.

In the Flanders region, 555 kg per capita of household waste is generated annually. This type of waste is collected by municipalities. 72% of household waste is collected separately for the purpose of re‐use and recycling in the region, while 25% goes to incineration, and 1.2% to lanfill (2007 figures). Especially regarding textile waste, Belgium ranks among the leading five textile polluters in the EU. Once textiles end up in municipal waste, they cannot be re-used or recycled, and are often incinerated with all other residual waste. Diverting the textiles and other household goods from incineration through separate collection can result in a significant CO2 reduction. An increasing number of service organizations are developing thrift stores to increase awareness about the environmental problems associated with household waste and raise resources to support their mission-directed activities. 

Formed the early 1990s, when a group of second-hand shops set up to employ disadvantaged groups came together as a federation. De Kringwinkel is now the largest social franchise in Europe. It is a Flanders-wide network of shops with dual social and environmental missions. By giving household goods and textiles a second life they help to reduce waste, while also creating social impact by providing employment opportunities to people that are long-term unemployed. With this model, De Kringwinkel network employs around 5311 people, 80% of which is social employment - employment created for people who, for various reasons, find it difficult to find work on the regular labor market. More than half of the 83,000 tons of goods collected by De Kringwinkel's 145 stores each year find a new home. This also serves to fulfill a second social mission, making high quality reusable items available to people at an affordable price.

Currently, more than 5,800 employees work for De Kringwinkel, 85% of whom are in the context of social employment. Workers employed at De Kringwinkel register, sort, check, repair and sales items received by the organisation for resale. Their salaries are paid through a combination of sales from the shops and subsidies provided by the Flemish government. Job opportunities are tailored to the individual depending on their needs. If employees are lacking in a certain social, technical or linguistic skill that they need in their role, De Kringwinkel provides training and tailored support. This serves to help the people they employ to develop skills that can also be applied in the mainstream labour market if and when they are ready to join it.

De Kringwinkel is also part of Herw!n, a Flemish umbrella organisation for environmental and social entrepreneurship. Through Herw!n, De Kringwinkel franchises can make use of multiple regional social employment programmes. Herw!n has also supported De Kringwinkel to develop its brand, quality standard, shop format and marketing strategy. Through their 145 stores, De Kringwinkel has a widespread presence in local communities, and their social and environmental missions are well known by the public as well as local governments.